Redemption from the Abyss: The School Beauty Insists on Pulling Me Out of the Mire

The next morning.

Xie Wang pushed open the door, pulled his scarf up, and prepared for another day of going to school alone.

However, he habitually looked next door.

A familiar figure was standing there quietly.

Su Qinghe was wrapped up like a dumpling, and when she saw Xie Wang come out, she immediately bent into two crescent moons.

Good morning, Xie.

Xie Wang paused for two seconds, then quickly walked over, his tone revealing undisguised surprise:

"Why are you out here? Didn't you say you were going to rest for another day? It's so cold today."

As he spoke, he naturally reached out and touched her forehead with the back of his warm hand, only feeling relieved after confirming that she didn't have a fever.

"I can't stay at home anymore."

Su Qinghe tucked her chin into her scarf, leaving only her eyes visible as she looked at him:

"Besides... I'm worried that someone might not study properly at school if no one is supervising them, and then Old Li might punish them by making them stand in the corner."

"Tsk." Xie Wang chuckled, casually taking her heavy schoolbag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, let's go, let's go get reformed."

……

[Classroom of Senior Three (1)]

The two walked into the classroom side by side to their newly arranged seats.

"Su Shen! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

The arts and literature committee member, Qiao Yue, rushed over as if she had seen a savior, standing in front of their table with her hands clasped together, her eyes filled with eager anticipation:

"Um... Wang Shen mentioned it to you yesterday, right? About the New Year's Eve party?"

Su Qing nodded:

"I said I would accompany the class on the piano for the honor of the class."

"That's fantastic!!!" Qiao Yue was so excited she almost knelt down before Su Qinghe on the spot. "With God Su here, our class's performance is a sure thing!"

"but……"

Su Qinghe changed the subject, glancing mockingly at Xie Wang, who was twirling a pen beside him:

"Xie Wang volunteered, saying he wanted to be the lead singer of this song."

"cough--"

Shen Hao, standing beside Xie Wang, looked at him with a horrified expression.

"What? Brother Wang is going to sing?"

Qiao Yue's smile froze.

Her mind instantly went into commentary mode:

Oh no! Although Wang Shen is handsome and has a nice voice, that's not the same as being able to sing! What if he's the kind of singer who makes you kneel down as soon as he opens his mouth?

Refuse him? But that's Xie Wang! The Xie Wang whose eyes can kill! If I say no, will he beat me up?

But what if the whole class's performance is ruined if I don't refuse? Good heavens!

Qiao Yue's mindset underwent a tremendous change in just a few seconds.

Finally, looking at Xie Wang's face, she steeled herself and forced a smile that was more like a grimace:

"Ha...haha, it's an honor for our class that Wang Shen is willing to lead the singing! That's great, that's great..."

She took a deep breath and quickly tried to salvage the situation:

"Well, how about this! There's a gap between dinner and evening study tonight, how about the three of us go to the small practice room in the art building to try it out? Let's not bring the rest of the group yet, let's... get to know each other a bit first?"

Xie Wang raised an eyebrow at Qiao Yue's tense expression, but didn't expose her; he simply nodded slightly.

"OK."

……

[18:40 in the evening · Art Building]

Winter evenings are dark early, and the art building is quiet.

The three of them had just reached the corridor leading to the music room on the third floor, and before they even entered, they heard a melodious, soulful voice, yet tinged with an eerie melancholy, emanating from within:

"Ah! Youth! You are a bright sorrow! You are a shooting star streaking across the sky, burning away into nothingness ashes before falling..."

Su Qinghe paused, exchanged a glance with Xie Wang, and both saw deep confusion in each other's eyes.

"That voice..." Xie Wang's lips twitched. "Lu Yi?"

"Hehe, I called them."

Qiao Yue scratched her head sheepishly:

"I thought singing alone would be too monotonous, so I'll have Lu Yi recite a poem about youth before you start singing, as a prelude to set the mood. After all, he's the one in our class with the most... well, poetic temperament."

Push open the door.

In the music room, Lu Yi was standing by the window, looking at the withered tree outside, holding a manuscript in his hand, lost in his own world.

"You're here?" Lu Yi pushed up his glasses, his eyes filled with melancholy. "I'm ready, and I'm ready to offer my soul for this grand farewell at any time."

"Alright, gather your spirit." Xie Wang walked over. "Let's get down to business first."

……

Just as they closed the door and began rehearsing.

Two first-year high school girls were peeking furtively through the window in the corridor outside the music room.

"Wow! That's Xie Wang, a senior in high school! He's so handsome!"

"Is that Su Qinghe, the senior student playing the piano next to us? Wow, they're such a perfect match!"

"That boy reciting poetry is so strange...he looks so melancholy."

Inside the music room.

Su Qinghe sat down in front of the black grand piano and opened the lid.

She took a deep breath and gently placed her slender fingers on the black and white piano keys.

Ding-dong

The prelude begins.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

As Su Qinghe's fingertips danced, the prelude to "The Wind Rises" poured out, clear and lively.

Qiao Yue's eyes widened: Holy crap! Su Shen is too strong!

After Su Qinghe finished playing the prelude, he turned to look at Xie Wang, who was standing next to the piano.

There was a hint of unease in her eyes. Although Xie Wang usually had a nice voice, she had never heard him sing before. What if he sang off-key? She would have to find a way to cover for him.

Xie Wang noticed her gaze, gave her a reassuring smile, then closed his eyes and slowly began to speak, following the rhythm of the music.

A deep, magnetic voice, with a touch of youthful charm, resonated in the empty practice room:

"We traveled and stopped frequently along the way."

Following the trail of the boy's drifting journey

"The moment before stepping out of the station"

"I'm actually a little hesitant..."

I go!

Holy crap!

Qiao Yue's jaw almost dropped to the ground.

False God!

Xie Wang's singing doesn't involve many fancy techniques, but he brings out the storytelling quality in the lyrics perfectly.

His gaze fell tenderly on Su Qinghe, who was playing the piano.

"I can't help but laugh at this feeling of trepidation upon approaching home."

"Still unavoidable"

"And the sky over Nagano"

"Still so warm, the wind brings back memories..."

The piano music and the slightly husky male voice intertwined perfectly, as if instantly pulling people back to that windy summer, to that past that can never be returned to.

Even the usually picky Lu Yi stopped fiddling with his poetry collection, pushed up his glasses, and became serious.

"ah--!!!"

Just as the chorus was about to begin, a gasp that couldn't be suppressed suddenly came from outside the door.

"It sounds so good!!!"

The music stopped abruptly.

All four of them turned to look at the doorway at the same time.

The two high school girls who had been eavesdropping by the window realized they had been exposed. They blushed with fright and ran away like startled rabbits, crying out, "Sorry, seniors!"

"puff--"

Qiao Yue was the first to react, excitedly rushing over to pat Xie Wang on the shoulder:

"Wang Shen! You've been hiding your true abilities! Our class is definitely going to be a showstopper at this party!"

Su Qinghe also stopped what he was doing and looked up at Xie Wang:

"Xie, is this what you meant by never having sung before? That shout just now, I think it stole the heart of the girl outside the door."

Xie Wang was unusually embarrassed by the praise. He scratched his head and looked intently at Su Qinghe:

"It's mainly because Teacher Su's piano playing is excellent. As soon as your intro started, I felt that I would be letting down the accompaniment if I didn't sing well."

"vulgar."

As soon as Lu Yi walked over, although he complained, his eyes were full of admiration:

"However, there is indeed a kind of... soul-stirring resonance. It's not just music; it's a dialogue between two souls in the wind."

Qiao Yue excitedly closed the notebook:

"It's a sure thing! Absolutely a sure thing! This combination of ours is a winning formula!"

"Let's go, let's go back to the classroom! I can't wait to see the whole school's jaws drop at the party!"

Xie Wang glanced at the time, picked up Su Qinghe's coat, and handed it to her:

"Let's go back to the classroom, we're going to be late."

Su Qinghe took the coat, and the two smiled at each other.